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Staying healthy with bladder cancer

JQ
0 Recommendations

Two weeks after my TURBT and MMC treatment, I have come down with the flu. The doctor is treating it as swine flu. I postponed getting a seasonal flu shot because I wasn't sure how it would affect my upcoming surgery, not to mention that I had to fight off an upper respiratory infection just days before. Normally, I would have a spring and a fall cold, which I consider cleansings. I hope I am not more vulnerable to bugs. Has anyone experienced lower resistance to colds and infections during and after bladder cancer treatment?

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Cancer Surgery Bladder cancer

9 replies

roadrunner

Good question,JQ....

Hre at our house my husband had nothing,no colds,flu,or respiratory during or after surgery,,
recently a few have been on with some issues, colds etc....vitamin C may help,hope your better soon..

ginger

JQ

I've been taking 1000 mg. daily of Ester-C and 2000 mg. of garlic, along with a multi. But I work at a school that is experiencing its own epidemic right now.

roadrunner

Oh my gosh,your in the thick of it for sure,,,,
my grandson 7 was home for 8 days with it,,,he took nothing,,,just waited it out ..feel better soon.....ginger

nancynursez637

Cancer in and of itself can come from suppressed immune systems and or the illness can make us more susceptible. Treatments can add to the susceptibility and then when we work in high risk areas, we add to the risk.

I guess it is part of our journey. Because of other illnesses, I have been isolating my self, a bit from the public and am fortunate I can do this.

I use chlorox wipes after shopping, and after handling public handles, money, groc carts etc. It helps but is not a fool proof effort

NancyN

JQ

Yes, I agree that nothing is foolproof. I've been doing all that. I don't touch public door handles with my hands or shopping carts without wiping them down if I can help it. A coworker calls me anal. And yet, all our teachers have beefed up their use of sanitizers and Clorox wipes since school began. I work with different grade levels and groups, so I began wiping the tables and desks down after every group. I wash or sanitize my hands after handling everything, and before eating or touching my food. I keep my fingers away from my face. Believe me, all of those extra precautions are being taken. But I remember one occasion when a child sneezed a rather nasty mist into the air, and I tried to avoid it. That was several days after I returned from having my TURBT. So I'm raising this issue to say that even while I was doing all of those things, I still got the flu, perhaps because I'm in a very high-risk occupation where everything from stomach flu to swine flu is currently spreading. Can I expect not to get sick even when I'm keeping my hands clean? I certainly don't want to keep getting sick. As I said, it is not the norm for me. And would it be too extreme to remove myself from such an environment?

mycopper

My husband got both the H1N1 shot and his flu shot. And we think he had the swine flu with his first BCG treatment. His URO told him to get both. Don't know about surgery. He works in a school enviroment with challenged children and he is really careful too.

Candy

Burb

Here is my non-scientific opinion.

Just dumb luck that you got the flu. My entire life I have gotten colds/sinus infections really easy. In late summer I had a TURBT and 6 bladder instillations of mmc, a week ago I had another TURBT and one instillation of mmc, everyone at work is sick (I work in health care) and I am fine. Go figure.

Hey, I am sure happy I'm not sick (watch it hit me tonight), but sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for stuff....kind of like getting bladder cancer and not having any of the risks!

Before taking any extra vitamins or supplements, check with your urologist. Often folks think of them as benign things, they are not. They can affect other prescription medications and treatments/conditions you may have.

Hope you get feeling better.

Burb

15yrsurvivor

I also work at a school and everyday we see kids who should be staying home sick! I definitely know where you are coming from on that aspect.

Nancy makes a great point about our immune systems.
It is our body's last resort against cancer cells, which are produced in every human. Some theories contend that when we get a tumor, our immune system was either too weak or too overwhelmed to fight it off. This makes a lot of sense for people who experience multiple cancers! That is, of course, a very simplified version. Other factors are involved.

Keep us updated on your progress, and get better!

JQ

I appreciate all of your perspectives, even the ones I counterpointed :) I can't be sure where or how I got it, and I can only do what I can to prevent it. I am sure that I'm not going anywhere until It's gone.

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Related links from BCAN

Researchers are looking for bladder cancer survivors to complete a telephone survey. Click here for more information.

Newly diagnosed
Information for those newly diagnosed with bladder cancer from BCAN.

Bladder Cancer Basics for the Newly Diagnosed
Download or order a copy of BCAN's patient handbook "Bladder Cancer Basics for the Newly Diagnosed" free of charge.

Clinical trials
Get information about clinical trials and BCAN's Clinical Trials Matching Service which is offered at no charge.

Women and bladder cancer
Information about women and bladder cancer from BCAN.

BCAN's glossary (PDF)

BCAN's November Patient Forum in San Francisco
"Understanding Bladder Cancer: A BCAN Patient Forum"
San Francisco, CA
Saturday, November 7, 2009
9:30 am - 2:30 pm
The forum and lunch are free, but pre-registration is required at www.bcan.org or 888-901-BCAN

Presentations from BCAN's May 2009 Patient Forum
Presentations and slides from BCAN's most recent Patient Forum in Cleveland. Those diagnosed with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer will be most interested in Dr. Jones' and Dr Pohar's presentations. People diagnosed with muscle-invasive bladder cancer will be most interested in Dr. Gong and Dr. Gilligan's presentations. Dr. Campbell talks about improving outcomes in bladder cancer patients, and Dr. Hansel talks about the importance of pathology in diagnosing, staging, and deciding on treatment for each patient.

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